Ellen Hughes-Cromwick

Ellen is Senior Visiting Fellow for the Climate and Energy program at Third Way, a think tank in Washington DC. She built her career as Chief Global Economist at Ford Motor Company, providing critical insights on the global economy and finance. Ellen led a team developing strategy and 10-year business plans, while delivering macroeconomic analysis and forecasting that shaped production programming, long-term projections, and decisions on product cadence, volume, and pricing.

As Chief Economist at the US Department of Commerce during the Obama Administration, she advanced initiatives to improve data quality, measure the digital economy, and expand workforce development, manufacturing, trade, and investment. Ellen also supported the development of the Administration’s economic forecast and represented the Administration at the OECD Economic Outlook meeting.

As Senior Visiting Fellow, Ellen is advancing new ideas on US competitiveness in clean energy technologies, drawing on her supply chain expertise from her time at Ford. She served on the Biden Transition Team and the White House EV working group, shaping policy recommendations on critical minerals, battery components, charging infrastructure, and EV manufacturing.

Ellen can be seen on several media outlets, and is an expert on monetary policy, clean energy industrial strategy, and the latest trends in clean energy investment in the U.S.

She earned her master’s degree in international development and Ph.D. in economics at Clark University and concluded a 6-year term on the Clark Board of Trustees in 2023. When not working, Ellen is often hiking with her husband, enjoying family life with her kids, or hitting the road for another run.

Contact Ellen at [email protected]